Suspected Alignment / Alignments: Winter Solstice Sunrise
Site Type: Passage Tomb
Irish Grid Ref: O2691655345
Location: Link to Bing Maps
Description:
The passage tomb is described on Archaeology.ie as follows;
"Situated on a small headland south of Loughshinney village. Prior to c. 1838 the site comprised a circular cairn (diam. c. 30m) with a funnel-shaped entrance and a rectangular chamber (L 2.4m; Wth 1.8m). Human bones were found in the chamber and midden material containing a possible microlith (DU008-013003)-) was found underneath (Newenham 1838, 247; Flanagan 1984, 15). Two cist burials were found in the cairn and a third W of the kerbstones (DU008-013002-).The cairn was partially removed by land improvement in 1838, the remainder incorporated into a field boundary. Remains of this field boundary extend almost from the cliff edge for c. 21m NS. Large stones (> 1m diam.) and small stone cairn material are visible within the overgrown field boundary. One large boulder is out lying c.2m south-east of the field boundary. No markings or decoration visible on these stones. Magnetic gradiometry undertaken by the Discovery Programme (Licence 08R247) did not succeed in establishing a location for the passage tomb as a large part of the area had been subject to intensive ploughing."
I came across this alignment in 2016 with the publication of Dr Frank Prendergast's paper 'Interpreting megalithic tomb orientations and siting within broader cultural contexts' Dr Prendergast uses a statistical analysis of all the passage tombs in Ireland to conclude that 24 of them have significant astronomical alignments
Links to photographs;
Picture of the remaining stone by the Tom Fourwinds
Links for further information;
